POINT LOMA  One of the last surviving battalion commanders from the U.S. assault on Iwo Jima during World War II was laid to rest Friday with full military honors at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Marines gave retired Col. Richard Rothwell a four-helicopter flyover during the 30-minute ceremony, as family members quietly watched. Rothwell, a former Mission Valley resident who died in May at age 99, was one of just five infantry battalion commanders who survived the entire 36-day battle after landing with his unit at the start of the invasion.

“As Marines, we grow up in the Corps hearing about our legendary forefathers,” said Col. Wayne Sinclair, who presented American flags to Rothwell’s wife, Rebecca, and two sons, Richard and Charles. “There’s a natural gravitation to history for all Marines. Iwo Jima was one of the greatest battles in history. There’s really little I can say except it’s a wonderful honor to be able to participate.”

A Silver Star recipient for his actions on Iwo Jima, Rothwell graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1936 and served until he retired from the Marine Corps in 1961. His 25 years in the military included two tours in China and one tour in the Philippines before World War II.

During World War II, he served with 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division from its activation until its postwar deactivation.

Rothwell commanded infantry units at the platoon, company, battalion and regimental levels. On the day units came ashore in the battle of Iwo Jima, 18 infantry battalions began the ground battle, and the majority of commanders didn’t return. Just two battalion commanders remain alive today.

The battle of Iwo Jima, which lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945, was a key element of the U.S. advance toward the Japanese mainland. It involved fierce fighting and has been immortalized by a photo of troops raising an American flag atop Mount Suribachi.

Sixty-five years later, Rothwell returned to Iwo Jima at age 97.

“Iwo was different then,” Rothwell told a Stars and Stripes reporter in March 2010, sitting in a wheelchair atop Mount Suribachi, as he stared down at the sands of Invasion Beach. “This place was full of mangled vegetation. Like some planet you never wanted to go to.”

Rothwell is survived by his wife, two sons, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, many of whom were on hand Friday.

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Master Sgt. Robert Knoll called Rothwell an inspiration and the embodiment of why young men and women become Marines.

“You learn about legends like Col. Rothwell,” Knoll said. “He was a Marine leader who led from the front.”

Knoll later added: “Col. Rothwell and others who fought on Iwo Jima were tremendous Americans and tremendous Marines.”